Transmission of symbols in a mimo environment using alamouti based codes

ABSTRACT

A method for transmitting data in a multiple-input-multiple-output space-time coded communication using a mapping table mapping a plurality of symbols defining the communication to respective antennae from amongst a plurality of transmission antennae and to at least one other transmission resource. The mapping table may comprise Alamouti-coded primary segments and may also comprise secondary segments, comprising primary segments. The primary segments in the secondary segments may be defined in accordance to an to Alamouti based code pattern applied at the segment level to define a segment-level Alamouti based code.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 61/239,144 filed on Sep. 2, 2009, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application is a continuation-in-part of the non-provisionalapplication (serial number tbd) resulting from conversion under 37C.F.R. §1.53(c) (3) of U.S. provisional patent application No.61/239,144 filed on Sep. 2, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S.provisional patent application No. 61/094,152 filed on Sep. 4, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to wireless communication techniques ingeneral, and more specifically to symbol transmission in a MIMO schemeusing Alamouti codes.

BACKGROUND

The demand for services in which data is delivered via a wirelessconnection has grown in recent years and is expected to continue togrow. Included are applications in which data is delivered via cellularmobile telephony or other mobile telephony, personal communicationssystems (PCS) and digital or high definition television (HDTV). Thoughthe demand for these services is growing, the channel bandwidth overwhich the data may be delivered is limited. Therefore, it is desirableto deliver data at high speeds over this limited bandwidth in anefficient, as well as cost effective, manner.

A known approach for efficiently delivering high speed data over achannel is by using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).The high-speed data signals are divided into tens or hundreds of lowerspeed signals that are transmitted in parallel over respectivefrequencies within a radio frequency (RF) signal that are known assub-carrier frequencies (“sub-carriers”). The frequency spectra of thesub-carriers overlap so that the spacing between them is minimized. Thesub-carriers are also orthogonal to each other so that they arestatistically independent and do not create crosstalk or otherwiseinterfere with each other. As a result, the channel bandwidth is usedmuch more efficiently than in conventional single carrier transmissionschemes such as AM/FM (amplitude or frequency modulation).

Space time transmit diversity (STTD) can achieve symbol level diversitywhich significantly improves link performance. STTD code is said to be‘perfect’, therefore, in the sense that it achieves full space timecoding rate (Space time coding rate=1, also called rate-1), and it isorthogonal. When the number of transmit antennas is more than 2,however, rate-1 orthogonal codes do not exist.

An approach to providing more efficient use of the channel bandwidth isto transmit the data using a base station having multiple antennas andthen receive the transmitted data using a remote station having multiplereceiving antennas, referred to as Multiple Input-Multiple Output(MIMO). MIMO technologies have been proposed for next generationwireless cellular systems, such as the third generation partnershipproject (3GPP) standards. Because multiple antennas are deployed in bothtransmitters and receivers, higher capacity or transmission rates can beachieved.

When using the MIMO systems to transmit packets, if a received packethas an error, the receiver may require re-transmission of the samepacket. Systems are known that provide for packet symbols to be mappeddifferently than the original transmission.

Methods for transmitting symbols in a MIMO environment have beendescribed in PCT International Patent Application no. PCT/CA2005/001976bearing publication no. WO 2006/076787. This application is incorporatedherein by reference.

In a closed loop system, the packet receiver can also indicate to thetransmitter the best mapping of the re-transmit format.

In known systems, the possibility exists for certain symbol mappings tobe ineffective in overcoming interference.

Thus a need exists for an improved ways to facilitate MIMOre-transmissions.

SUMMARY

In accordance with a first broad aspect is provided a method fortransmitting data in a multiple-input-multiple-output space-time codedcommunication. The method comprises transmitting a plurality of sets ofsymbols over a common plurality of antennae and respective transmissionresources according to a mapping table, the mapping table mapping aplurality of symbols defining the communication to respective antennaefrom amongst a plurality of transmission antennae and to at least oneother transmission resource. The transmitting comprises transmittingsymbols forming at least a part of a segment-level Alamouti code in themapping table.

In accordance with a second broad aspect is provided a method fortransmitting data in a multiple-input-multiple-output space-time codedcommunication. The method comprises defining a mapping table for mappinga plurality of symbols defining the communication to respective antennaefrom amongst a plurality of transmission antennae and to at least oneother transmission resource. The method further comprises populating themapping table by defining a plurality of primary segments of the mappingtable, each of the plurality of primary segments comprising a pluralityof components corresponding to individual symbol transmissions togetherdefining a symbol-level Alamouti code; and defining a secondary segmentof the mapping table, the secondary segment comprising a plurality ofprimary segments together defining a segment-level Alamouti code. Themethod further comprises transmitting the symbols in the mapping tablewith the plurality of antennae according to the mapping table.

Aspects and features of the present application will become apparent tothose ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of a disclosure in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing figures and appendices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present application will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawing figures,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a cellular communication system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example base station that might be usedto implement some embodiments of the present 5 application;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example wireless terminal that might beused to implement some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example relay station that might be usedto implement some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a logical breakdown of an example OFDMtransmitter architecture that might be used to implement someembodiments of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a logical breakdown of an example OFDMreceiver architecture that might be used to implement some embodimentsof the present application;

FIG. 7 is FIG. 1 of IEEE 802.16m-08/003rl, an Example of overall networkarchitecture;

FIG. 8 is FIG. 2 of IEEE 802.16m-08/003rl, a Relay Station in overallnetwork architecture;

FIG. 9 is FIG. 3 of IEEE 802.16m-08/003rl, a System Reference Model;

FIG. 10 is FIG. 4 of IEEE 802.16m-08/003rl, The IEEE 802.16m ProtocolStructure;

FIG. 11 is FIG. 5 of IEEE 802.16m-08/003rl, The IEEE 802.16m MS/BS DataPlane Processing Flow;

FIG. 12 is FIG. 6 of IEEE 802.16m-08/003rl, The IEEE 802.16m MS/BSControl Plane Processing Flow;

FIG. 13 is FIG. 7 of IEEE 802.16m-08/003rl, Generic protocolarchitecture to support multicarrier system;

FIG. 14 is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustrating asymbol-level Alamouti code;

FIG. 15. is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustrating twosymbol-level Alamouti code;

FIG. 16 is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustrating twosymbol-level Alamouti code;

FIG. 17A is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustrating asegment-level Alamouti code;

FIG. 17B is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustrating asegment-level Alamouti code and symbol-level Alamouti codes;

FIG. 17C is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustrating asegment-level Alamouti code and symbol-level Alamouti codes;

FIG. 18 is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustrating twolevels of segment-level Alamouti codes and symbol-level Alamouti codes;

FIG. 19 is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustrating apartial segment-level Alamouti code; and

FIG. 20 is a graphical illustration of a mapping table illustratingsymbol-level and segment-level Alamouti codes.

Like reference numerals are used in different figures to denote similarelements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a base station controller (BSC)10 which controls wireless communications within multiple cells 12,which cells are served by corresponding base stations (BS) 14. In someconfigurations, each cell is further divided into multiple sectors 13 orzones (not shown). In general, each BS 14 facilitates communicationsusing OFDM with subscriber stations (SS) 16 which can be any entitycapable of communicating with the base station, and may include mobileand/or wireless terminals or fixed terminals, which are within the cell12 associated with the corresponding BS 14. If SSs 16 moves in relationto the BSs 14, this movement results in significant fluctuation inchannel conditions. As illustrated, the BSs 14 and SSs 16 may includemultiple antennas to provide spatial diversity for communications. Insome configurations, relay stations 15 may assist in communicationsbetween BSs 14 and wireless terminals 16. SS 16 can be handed off 18from any cell 12, sector 13, zone (not shown), BS 14 or relay 15 to another cell 12, sector 13, zone (not shown), BS 14 or relay 15. In someconfigurations, BSs 14 communicate with each and with another network(such as a core network or the internet, both not shown) over a backhaulnetwork 11. In some configurations, a base station controller 10 is notneeded.

With reference to FIG. 2, an example of a BS 14 is illustrated. The BS14 generally includes a control system 20, a baseband processor 22,transmit circuitry 24, receive circuitry 26, multiple antennas 28, and anetwork interface 30. The receive circuitry 26 receives radio frequencysignals bearing information from one or more remote transmittersprovided by SSs 16 (illustrated in FIG. 3) and relay stations 15(illustrated in FIG. 4). A low noise amplifier and a filter (not shown)may cooperate to amplify and remove broadband interference from thesignal for processing. Downconversion and digitization circuitry (notshown) will then downconvert the filtered, received signal to anintermediate or baseband frequency signal, which is then digitized intoone or more digital streams.

The baseband processor 22 processes the digitized received signal toextract the information or data bits conveyed in the received signal.This processing typically comprises demodulation, decoding, and errorcorrection operations. As such, the baseband processor 22 is generallyimplemented in one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) orapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The receivedinformation is then sent across a wireless network via the networkinterface 30 or transmitted to another SS 16 serviced by the BS 14,either directly or with the assistance of a relay 15.

On the transmit side, the baseband processor 22 receives digitized data,which may represent voice, data, or control information, from thenetwork interface 30 under the control of control system 20, and encodesthe data for transmission. The encoded data is output to the transmitcircuitry 24, where it is modulated by one or more carrier signalshaving a desired transmit frequency or frequencies. A power amplifier(not shown) will amplify the modulated carrier signals to a levelappropriate for transmission, and deliver the modulated carrier signalsto the antennas 28 through a matching network (not shown). Modulationand processing details are described in greater detail below.

With reference to FIG. 3, an example of a subscriber station (SS) 16 isillustrated. SS 16 can be, for example a mobile station. Similarly tothe BS 14, the SS 16 will include a control system 32, a basebandprocessor 34, transmit circuitry 36, receive circuitry 38, multipleantennas 40, and user interface circuitry 42. The receive circuitry 38receives radio frequency signals bearing information from one or moreBSs 14 and relays 15. A low noise amplifier and a filter (not shown) maycooperate to amplify and remove broadband interference from the signalfor processing. Downconversion and digitization circuitry (not shown)will then downconvert the filtered, received signal to an intermediateor baseband frequency signal, which is then digitized into one or moredigital streams.

The baseband processor 34 processes the digitized received signal toextract the information or data bits conveyed in the received signal.This processing typically Comprises demodulation, decoding, and errorcorrection operations. The baseband processor 34 is generallyimplemented in one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) andapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs). For transmission, thebaseband processor 34 receives digitized data, which may representvoice, video, data, or control information, from the control system 32,which it encodes for transmission. The encoded data is output to thetransmit circuitry 36, where it is used by a modulator to modulate oneor more carrier signals that is at a desired transmit frequency orfrequencies. A power amplifier (not shown) will amplify the modulatedcarrier signals to a level appropriate for transmission, and deliver themodulated carrier signal to the antennas 40 through a matching network(not shown). Various modulation and processing techniques available tothose skilled in the art are used for signal transmission between the SSand the base station, either directly or via the relay station.

In OFDM modulation, the transmission band is divided into multiple,orthogonal subcarriers. Each subcarrier is modulated according to thedigital data to be transmitted. Because OFDM divides the transmissionband into multiple subcarriers, the bandwidth per carrier decreases andthe modulation time per carrier increases. Since the multiplesubcarriers are transmitted in parallel, the transmission rate for thedigital data, or symbols (discussed later), on any given subcarrier islower than when a single carrier is used.

OFDM modulation utilizes the performance of an Inverse Fast FourierTransform (IFFT) on the information to be transmitted. For demodulation,the performance of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the received signalrecovers the transmitted information. In practice, the IFFT and FFT areprovided by digital signal processing carrying out an Inverse DiscreteFourier Transform (IDFT) and Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT),respectively. Accordingly, the characterizing feature of OFDM modulationis that orthogonal subcarriers are generated for multiple bands within atransmission channel. The modulated signals are digital signals having arelatively low transmission rate and capable of staying within theirrespective bands. The individual subcarrier are not modulated directlyby the digital signals. Instead, all subcarrier are modulated at once byIFFT processing.

In operation, OFDM is preferably used for at least downlink transmissionfrom the BSs 14 to the SSs 16. Each BS 14 is equipped with “n” transmitantennas 28 (n>=1), and each SS 16 is equipped with “m” receive antennas40 (m>=1). Notably, the respective antennas can be used for receptionand transmission using appropriate duplexers or switches and are solabelled only for clarity.

When relay stations 15 are used, OFDM is preferably used for downlinktransmission from the BSs 14 to the relays 15 and from relay stations 15to the SSs 16.

With reference to FIG. 4, an example of a relay station 15 isillustrated. Similarly to the BS 14, and the SS 16, the relay station 15will include a control system 132, a baseband processor 134, transmitcircuitry 136, receive circuitry 138, multiple antennas 130, and relaycircuitry 142. The relay circuitry 142 enables the relay 14 to assist incommunications between a base station 16 and SSs 16. The receivecircuitry 138 receives radio frequency signals bearing information fromone or more BSs 14 and SSs 16. A low noise amplifier and a filter (notshown) may cooperate to amplify and remove broadband interference fromthe signal for processing. Downconversion and digitization circuitry(not shown) will then downconvert the filtered, received signal to anintermediate or baseband frequency signal, which is then digitized intoone or more digital streams.

The baseband processor 134 processes the digitized received signal toextract the information or data bits conveyed in the received signal.This processing typically comprises demodulation, decoding, and errorcorrection operations. The baseband processor 134 is generallyimplemented in one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) andapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

For transmission, the baseband processor 134 receives digitized data,which may represent voice, video, data, or control information, from thecontrol system 132, which it encodes for transmission. The encoded datais output to the transmit circuitry 136, where it is used by a modulatorto modulate one or more carrier signals that is at a desired transmitfrequency or frequencies. A power amplifier (not shown) will amplify themodulated carrier signals to a level appropriate for transmission, anddeliver the modulated carrier signal to the antennas 130 through amatching network (not shown). Various modulation and processingtechniques available to those skilled in the art are used for signaltransmission between the SS and the base station, either directly orindirectly via a relay station, as described above.

With reference to FIG. 5, a logical OFDM transmission architecture willbe described. Initially, the base station controller 10 will send datato be transmitted to various SSs 16 to the BS 14, either directly orwith the assistance of a relay station 15. The BS 14 may use theinformation on the quality of channel associated with the SSs toschedule the data for transmission as well as select appropriate codingand modulation for transmitting the scheduled data. The quality of thechannel is found using control signals, as described in more detailsbelow. Generally speaking, however, the quality of channel for each SS16 is a function of the degree to which the channel amplitude (orresponse) varies across the OFDM frequency band.

Scheduled data 44, which is a stream of bits, is scrambled in a mannerreducing the peak-to-average power ratio associated with the data usingdata scrambling logic 46. A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for thescrambled data may be determined and appended to the scrambled datausing CRC adding logic 48. Next, channel coding is performed usingchannel encoder logic 50 to effectively add redundancy to the data tofacilitate recovery and error correction at the SS 16. Again, thechannel coding for a particular SS 16 may be based on the quality ofchannel. In some implementations, the channel encoder logic 50 usesknown Turbo encoding techniques. The encoded data is then processed byrate matching logic 52 to compensate for the data expansion associatedwith encoding.

Bit interleaver logic 54 systematically reorders the bits in the encodeddata to minimize the loss of consecutive data bits. The resultant databits are systematically mapped into corresponding symbols depending onthe modulation scheme chosen by mapping logic 56. The modulation schememay be, for example, Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), QuadraturePhase Shift Key (QPSK) or Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK)modulation. For transmission data, the degree of modulation may bechosen based on the quality of channel for the particular SS. Thesymbols may be systematically reordered to further bolster the immunityof the transmitted signal to periodic data loss caused by frequencyselective fading using symbol interleaver logic 58.

At this point, groups of bits have been mapped into symbols representinglocations in an amplitude and phase constellation. When spatialdiversity is desired, blocks of symbols are then processed by space-timeblock code (STC) encoder logic 60, which modifies the symbols in afashion making the transmitted signals more resistant to interferenceand more readily decoded at a SS 16. The STC encoder logic 60 willprocess the incoming symbols and provide “n” outputs corresponding tothe number of transmit antennas 28 for the BS 14. The control system 20and/or baseband processor 22 as described above with respect to FIG. 5will provide a mapping control signal to control STC encoding. At thispoint, assume the symbols for the “n” outputs are representative of thedata to be transmitted and capable of being recovered by the SS 16.

For the present example, assume the BS 14 has two antennas 28 (n=2) andthe STC encoder logic 60 provides two output streams of symbols.Accordingly, each of the symbol streams output by the STC encoder logic60 is sent to a corresponding IFFT processor 62, illustrated separatelyfor ease of understanding. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatone or more processors may be used to provide such digital signalprocessing, alone or in combination with other processing describedherein. The IFFT processors 62 will preferably operate on the respectivesymbols to provide an inverse Fourier Transform. The output of the IFFTprocessors 62 provides symbols in the time domain. The time domainsymbols are grouped into frames, which are associated with a prefix byprefix insertion logic 64. Each of the resultant signals is up-convertedin the digital domain to an intermediate frequency and converted to ananalog signal via the corresponding digital up-conversion (DUC) anddigital-to-analog (D/A) conversion circuitry 66. The resultant (analog)signals are then simultaneously modulated at the desired RF frequency,amplified, and transmitted via the RF circuitry 68 and antennas 28.Notably, pilot signals known by the intended SS 16 are scattered amongthe sub-carriers. The SS 16 may use the pilot signals for channelestimation.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6 to illustrate reception of thetransmitted signals by a SS 16, either directly from BS 14 or with theassistance of relay 15. Upon arrival of the transmitted signals at eachof the antennas 40 of the SS 16, the respective signals are demodulatedand amplified by corresponding RF circuitry 70. For the sake ofconciseness and clarity, only one of the two receive paths is describedand illustrated in detail. Analog-to-digital (A/D) converter anddown-conversion circuitry 72 digitizes and downconverts the analogsignal for digital processing. The resultant digitized signal may beused by automatic gain control circuitry (AGC) 74 to control the gain ofthe amplifiers in the RF circuitry 70 based on the received signallevel. Initially, the digitized signal is provided to synchronizationlogic 76, which includes coarse synchronization logic 78, which buffersseveral OFDM symbols and calculates an auto-correlation between the twosuccessive OFDM symbols. A resultant time index corresponding to themaximum of the correlation result determines a fine synchronizationsearch window, which is used by fine synchronization logic 80 todetermine a precise framing starting position based on the headers. Theoutput of the fine synchronization logic 80 facilitates frameacquisition by frame alignment logic 84. Proper framing alignment isimportant so that subsequent FFT processing provides an accurateconversion from the time domain to the frequency domain. The finesynchronization algorithm is based on the correlation between thereceived pilot signals carried by the headers and a local copy of theknown pilot data. Once frame alignment acquisition occurs, the prefix ofthe OFDM symbol is removed with prefix removal logic 86 and resultantsamples are sent to frequency offset correction logic 88, whichcompensates for the system frequency offset caused by the unmatchedlocal oscillators in the transmitter and the receiver. Preferably, thesynchronization logic 76 includes frequency offset and clock estimationlogic 82, which is based on the headers to help estimate such effects onthe transmitted signal and provide those estimations to the correctionlogic 88 to properly process OFDM symbols.

At this point, the OFDM symbols in the time domain are ready forconversion to the frequency domain using FFT processing logic 90. Theresults are frequency domain symbols, which are sent to processing logic92. The processing logic 92 extracts the scattered pilot signal usingscattered pilot extraction logic 94, determines a channel estimate basedon the extracted pilot signal using channel estimation logic 96, andprovides channel responses for all sub-carriers using channelreconstruction logic 98. In order to determine a channel response foreach of the sub-carriers, the pilot signal is essentially multiple pilotsymbols that are scattered among the data symbols throughout the OFDMsub-carriers in a known pattern in both time and frequency. Continuingwith FIG. 6, the processing logic compares the received pilot symbolswith the pilot symbols that are expected in certain sub-carriers atcertain times to determine a channel response for the sub-carriers inwhich pilot symbols were transmitted. The results are interpolated toestimate a channel response for most, if not all, of the remainingsub-carriers for which pilot symbols were not provided. The actual andinterpolated channel responses are used to estimate an overall channelresponse, which includes the channel responses for most, if not all, ofthe sub-carriers in the OFDM channel.

The frequency domain symbols and channel reconstruction information,which are derived from the channel responses for each receive path areprovided to an STC decoder 100, which provides STC decoding on bothreceived paths to recover the transmitted symbols. The channelreconstruction information provides equalization information to the STCdecoder 100 sufficient to remove the effects of the transmission channelwhen processing the respective frequency domain symbols.

The recovered symbols are placed back in order using symbolde-interleaver logic 102, which corresponds to the symbol interleaverlogic 58 of the transmitter. The de-interleaved symbols are thendemodulated or de-mapped to a corresponding bitstream using de-mappinglogic 104. The bits are then de-interleaved using bit de-interleaverlogic 106, which corresponds to the bit interleaver logic 54 of thetransmitter architecture. The de-interleaved bits are then processed byrate de-matching logic 108 and presented to channel decoder logic 110 torecover the initially scrambled data and the CRC checksum. Accordingly,CRC logic 112 removes the CRC checksum, checks the scrambled data intraditional fashion, and provides it to the de-scrambling logic 114 fordescrambling using the known base station de-scrambling code to recoverthe originally transmitted data 116.

In parallel to recovering the data 116, a CQI signal comprising anindication of channel quality, or at least information sufficient toderive some knowledge of channel quality at the BS 14, is determined andtransmitted to the BS 14. transmission of the CQI signal will bedescribed in more detail below. As noted above, the CQI may be afunction of the carrier-to-interference ratio (CR), as well as thedegree to which the channel response varies across the varioussub-carriers in the OFDM frequency band. For example, the channel gainfor each sub-carrier in the OFDM frequency band being used to transmitinformation may be compared relative to one another to determine thedegree to which the channel gain varies across the OFDM frequency band.Although numerous techniques are available to measure the degree ofvariation, one technique is to calculate the standard deviation of thechannel gain for each sub-carrier throughout the OFDM frequency bandbeing used to transmit data. In some embodiments, a relay station mayoperate in a time division manner using only one radio, or alternativelyinclude multiple radios.

FIGS. 1 to 6 provide one specific example of a communication system thatcould be used to implement embodiments of the application. It is to beunderstood that embodiments of the application can be implemented withcommunications systems having architectures that are different than thespecific example, but that operate in a manner consistent with theimplementation of the embodiments as described herein.

Turning now to FIG. 7, there is shown an example network referencemodel, which is a logical representation of a network that supportswireless communications among the aforementioned BSs 14, SSs 16 andrelay sations (RSs) 15, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment ofthe present invention. The network reference model identifies functionalentities and reference points over which interoperability is achievedbetween these functional entities. Specifically, the network referencemodel can include an SS 16, an Access Service Network (ASN), and aConnectivity Service Network (CSN).

The ASN can be defined as a complete set of network functions needed toprovide radio access to a subscriber (e.g., an IEEE 802.16e/msubscriber). The ASN can comprise network elements such as one or moreBSs 14, and one or more ASN gateways. An ASN may be shared by more thanone CSN. The ASN can provide the following functions:

-   -   Layer-1 and Layer-2 connectivity with the SS 16;    -   Transfer of AAA messages to subscriber's Home Network Service        Provider (H-NSP) for authentication, authorization and session        accounting for subscriber sessions    -   Network discovery and selection of the subscriber's preferred        NSP;    -   Relay functionality for establishing Layer-3 (L3) connectivity        with the SS 16 (e.g., IP address allocation);    -   Radio resource management.

In addition to the above functions, for a portable and mobileenvironment, an ASN can further support the following functions:

-   -   ASN anchored mobility;    -   CSN anchored mobility;    -   Paging;    -   ASN-CSN tunnelling.

For its part, the CSN can be defined as a set of network functions thatprovide IP connectivity services to the subscriber. A CSN may providethe following functions:

-   -   MS IP address and endpoint parameter allocation for user        sessions;    -   AAA proxy or server;    -   Policy and Admission Control based on user subscription        profiles;    -   ASN-CSN tunnelling support;    -   Subscriber billing and inter-operator settlement;    -   Inter-CSN tunnelling for roaming;    -   Inter-ASN mobility.

The CSN can provide services such as location based services,connectivity for peer-to-peer services, provisioning, authorizationand/or connectivity to IP multimedia services. The CSN may furthercomprise network elements such as routers, AAA proxy/servers, userdatabases, and interworking gateway MSs. In the context of IEEE 802.16m,the CSN may be deployed as part of a IEEE 802.16m NSP or as part of anincumbent IEEE 802.16e NSP.

In addition, RSs 15 may be deployed to provide improved coverage and/orcapacity. With reference to FIG. 8, a BS 14 that is capable ofsupporting a legacy RS communicates with the legacy RS in the “legacyzone”. The BS 14 is not required to provide legacy protocol support inthe “16m zone”. The relay protocol design could be based on the designof IEEE 802-16j, although it may be different from IEEE 802-16jprotocols used in the “legacy zone”.

With reference now to FIG. 9, there is shown a system reference model,which applies to both the SS 16 and the BS 14 and includes variousfunctional blocks including a Medium Access Control (MAC) common partsublayer, a convergence sublayer, a security sublayer and a physical(PHY) layer.

The convergence sublayer performs mapping of external network datareceived through the CS SAP into MAC SDUs received by the MAC CPSthrough the MAC SAP, classification of external network SDUs andassociating them to MAC SFID and CID, Payload headersuppression/compression (PHS).

The security sublayer performs authentication and secure key exchangeand Encryption.

The physical layer performs Physical layer protocol and functions.

The MAC common part sublayer is now described in greater detail.Firstly, it will be appreciated that Medium Access Control (MAC) isconnection-oriented. That is to say, for the purposes of mapping toservices on the SS 16 and associating varying levels of QoS, datacommunications are carried out in the context of “connections”. Inparticular, “service flows” may be provisioned when the SS 16 isinstalled in the system. Shortly after registration of the SS 16,connections are associated with these service flows (one connection perservice flow) to provide a reference against which to request bandwidth.

Additionally, new connections may be established when a customer'sservice needs change. A connection defines both the mapping between peerconvergence processes that utilize the MAC and a service flow. Theservice flow defines the QoS parameters for the MAC protocol data units(PDUs) that are exchanged on the connection. Thus, service flows areintegral to the bandwidth allocation process. Specifically, the SS 16requests uplink bandwidth on a per connection basis (implicitlyidentifying the service flow). Bandwidth can be granted by the BS to aMS as an aggregate of grants in response to per connection requests fromthe MS.

With additional reference to FIG. 10, the MAC common part sublayer (CPS)is classified into radio resource control and management (RRCM)functions and medium access control (MAC) functions.

The RRCM functions include several functional blocks that are relatedwith radio resource functions such as:

-   -   Radio Resource Management    -   Mobility Management    -   Network Entry Management    -   Location Management    -   Idle Mode Management    -   Security Management    -   System Configuration Management    -   MBS (Multicast and Broadcasting Service)    -   Service Flow and Connection Management    -   Relay functions    -   Self Organization    -   Multi-Carrier

Radio Resource Management

The Radio Resource Management block adjusts radio network parametersbased on traffic load, and also includes function of load control (loadbalancing), admission control and interference control.

Mobility Management

The Mobility Management block supports functions related toIntra-RAT/Inter-RAT handover. The Mobility Management block handles theIntra-RAT/Inter-RAT Network topology acquisition which includes theadvertisement and measurement, manages candidate neighbor target BSs/RSsand also decides whether the MS performs Intra-RAT/Inter-RAT handoveroperation.

Network Entry Management

The Network Entry Management block is in charge of initialization andaccess procedures. The Network Entry Management block may generatemanagement messages which are needed during access procedures, i.e.,ranging, basic capability negotiation, registration, and so on.

Location Management

The Location Management block is in charge of supporting location basedservice (LBS). The Location Management block may generate messagesincluding the LBS information.

Idle Mode Management

The Idle Mode Management block manages location update operation duringidle mode. The Idle Mode Management block controls idle mode operation,and generates the paging advertisement message based on paging messagefrom paging controller in the core network side.

Security Management

The Security Management block is in charge ofauthentication/authorization and key management for securecommunication.

System Configuration Management

The System Configuration Management block manages system configurationparameters, and system parameters and system configuration informationfor transmission to the MS.

MBS (Multicast and Broadcasting Service)

The MBS (Multicast Broadcast Service) block controls management messagesand data associated with broadcasting and/or multicasting service.

Service Flow and Connection Management

The Service Flow and Connection Management block allocates “MSidentifiers” (or station identifiers—STIDs) and “flow identifiers”(FIDs) during access/handover/service flow creation procedures. The MSidentifiers and FIDs will be discussed further below.

Relay Functions

The Relay Functions block includes functions to support multi-hop relaymechanisms. The functions include procedures to maintain relay pathsbetween BS and an access RS.

Self Organization

The Self Organization block performs functions to support selfconfiguration and self optimization mechanisms. The functions includeprocedures to request RSs/MSs to report measurements for selfconfiguration and self optimization and receive the measurements fromthe RSs/MSs.

Multi-Carrier

The Multi-carrier (MC) block enables a common MAC entity to control aPHY spanning over multiple frequency channels. The channels may be ofdifferent bandwidths (e.g. 5, 10 and 20 MHz), be on contiguous ornon-contiguous frequency bands. The channels may be of the same ordifferent duplexing modes, e.g. FDD, TDD, or a mix of bidirectional andbroadcast only carriers. For contiguous frequency channels, theoverlapped guard sub-carriers are aligned in frequency domain in orderto be used for data transmission.

The medium access control (MAC) includes function blocks which arerelated to the physical layer and link controls such as:

-   -   PHY Control    -   Control Signaling    -   Sleep Mode Management    -   QoS    -   Scheduling and Resource Multiplexing    -   ARQ    -   Fragmentation/Packing    -   MAC PDU formation    -   Multi-Radio Coexistence    -   Data forwarding    -   Interference Management    -   Inter-BS coordination

PHY Control

The PHY Control block handles PHY signaling such as ranging,measurement/feedback (CQI), and HARQ ACK/NACK. Based on CQI and HARQACK/NACK, the PHY Control block estimates channel quality as seen by theMS, and performs link adaptation via adjusting modulation and codingscheme (MCS), and/or power level. In the ranging procedure, PHY controlblock does uplink synchronization with power adjustment, frequencyoffset and timing offset estimation.

Control Signaling

The Control Signaling block generates resource allocation messages.

Sleep Mode Management

Sleep Mode Management block handles sleep mode operation. The Sleep ModeManagement block may also generate MAC signaling related to sleepoperation, and may communicate with Scheduling and Resource Multiplexingblock in order to operate properly according to sleep period.

QoS

The QoS block handles QoS management based on QoS parameters input fromthe Service Flow and Connection Management block for each connection.

Scheduling and Resource Multiplexing

The Scheduling and Resource Multiplexing block schedules and multiplexespackets based on properties of connections. In order to reflectproperties of connections Scheduling and Resource Multiplexing blockreceives QoS information from The QoS block for each connection.

ARQ

The ARQ block handles MAC ARQ function. For ARQ-enabled connections, ARQblock logically splits MAC SDU to ARQ blocks, and numbers each logicalARQ block. ARQ block may also generate ARQ management messages such asfeedback message (ACK/NACK information).

Fragmentation/Packing

The Fragmentation/Packing block performs fragmenting or packing MSDUsbased on scheduling results from Scheduling and Resource Multiplexingblock.

MAC PDU Formation

The MAC PDU formation block constructs MAC PDU so that BS/MS cantransmit user traffic or management messages into PHY channel. MAC PDUformation block adds MAC header and may add sub-headers.

Multi-Radio Coexistence

The Multi-Radio Coexistence block performs functions to supportconcurrent operations of IEEE 802.16m and non-IEEE 802.16m radioscollocated on the same mobile station.

Data Forwarding

The Data Forwarding block performs forwarding functions when RSs arepresent on the path between BS and MS. The Data Forwarding block maycooperate with other blocks such as Scheduling and Resource Multiplexingblock and MAC PDU formation block.

Interference Management

The Interference Management block performs functions to manage theinter-cell/sector interference. The operations may include:

-   -   MAC layer operation    -   Interference measurement/assessment report sent via MAC        signaling    -   Interference mitigation by scheduling and flexible frequency        reuse    -   PHY layer operation    -   Transmit power control    -   Interference randomization    -   Interference cancellation    -   Interference measurement    -   Tx beamforming/precoding

Inter-BS Coordination

The Inter-BS coordination block performs functions to coordinate theactions of multiple BSs by exchanging information, e.g., interferencemanagement. The functions include procedures to exchange information fore.g., interference management between the BSs by backbone signaling andby MS MAC messaging. The information may include interferencecharacteristics, e.g. interference measurement results, etc.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which shows the user traffic data flowand processing at the BS 14 and the SS 16. The dashed arrows show theuser traffic data flow from the network layer to the physical layer andvice versa. On the transmit side, a network layer packet is processed bythe convergence sublayer, the ARQ function (if present), thefragmentation/packing function and the MAC PDU formation function, toform MAC PDU(s) to be sent to the physical layer. On the receive side, aphysical layer SDU is processed by MAC PDU formation function, thefragmentation/packing function, the ARQ function (if present) and theconvergence sublayer function, to form the network layer packets. Thesolid arrows show the control primitives among the CPS functions andbetween the CPS and PHY that are related to the processing of usertraffic data.

Reference is now made to FIG. 12, which shows the CPS control planesignaling flow and processing at the BS 16 and the MS 14. On thetransmit side, the dashed arrows show the flow of control planesignaling from the control plane functions to the data plane functionsand the processing of the control plane signaling by the data planefunctions to form the corresponding MAC signaling (e.g. MAC managementmessages, MAC header/sub-header) to be transmitted over the air. On thereceive side, the dashed arrows show the processing of the receivedover-the-air MAC signaling by the data plane functions and the receptionof the corresponding control plane signaling by the control planefunctions. The solid arrows show the control primitives among the CPSfunctions and between the CPS and PHY that are related to the processingof control plane signaling. The solid arrows between M_SAP/C_SAP and MACfunctional blocks show the control and management primitives to/fromNetwork Control and Management System (NCMS). The primitives to/fromM_SAP/C_SAP define the network involved functionalities such as inter-BSinterference management, inter/intra RAT mobility management, etc, andmanagement related functionalities such as location management, systemconfiguration etc.

Reference is now made to FIG. 13, which shows a generic protocolarchitecture to support a multicarrier system. A common MAC entity maycontrol a PHY spanning over multiple frequency channels. Some MACmessages sent on one carrier may also apply to other carriers. Thechannels may be of different bandwidths (e.g. 5, 10 and 20 MHz), be oncontiguous or non-contiguous frequency bands. The channels may be ofdifferent duplexing modes, e.g. FDD, TDD, or a mix of bidirectional andbroadcast only carriers.

The common MAC entity may support simultaneous presence of MSs 16 withdifferent capabilities, such as operation over one channel at a timeonly or aggregation across contiguous or non-contiguous channels.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to aMIMO communication system. The MIMO communication system may implementpacket re-transmission schemes which may be for use in accordance withthe IEEE 802.16(e) and IEEE 802.11 (n) standards. The packetre-transmission schemes described below may be applicable to otherwireless environments, such as, but not limited to, those operating inaccordance with the third generation partnership project (3GPP) and3GPP2 standards.

In the following description, the term ‘STC code mapping’ is used todenote a mapping of symbols to antennas. Each symbol in such a mappingmay be replaced by its conjugate (e.g. S1*), or a rotation (e.g. jS1,−S1 and −jS1), or a combination of its conjugate and a rotation (e.g.jS1*). In some embodiments, the mapping also includes a signal weightingfor each antenna.

Alamouti codes may be used for STC code mappings. FIG. 14 illustratesthe coding matrix 1400 for an Alamouti code.

Tx-1 and Tx-2 in FIG. 14 represent a first and second transmit antenna,respectively. Generally, Alamouti code requires two antennas at thetransmitter and provides maximal transmit diversity gain for twoantennas. Two antennae Tx-1 and Tx-2 are represented in FIG. 14, each bya respective column. This traditional four-symbol Alamouti code may beconsidered a symbol-level Alamouti code.

Trans. 1 and Trans. 2 in FIG. 14 represent a first and secondtransmission resource, respectively, over which a single symbol istransmitted per antenna. Each transmission resource Trans. I isassociated with a set of symbols defined in the transmission resourceTrans. i′s row. The two transmissions Trans. 1 and Trans. 2 in FIG. 14are represented by respective rows. The transmission resources overwhich symbols are sent may be defined in any suitable manner, althoughgenerally each antenna will transmit one symbol per transmissionresource Trans. i. For example, the different transmission resourcesTrans. 1, Trans. 2, etc . . . may represent different time intervals. Insuch a case, according to FIG. 14, antenna Tx-1 transmits symbol A at afirst time interval Trans. 1, while antenna Tx-2 transmits symbol B, inthe same time interval Trans. 1. At a subsequent time interval Trans. 2,antenna Tx-1 transmits symbol −B2*, while in the same time intervalTrans. 2, antenna Tx-2 transmits symbol A1*.

Thus, a transmission resource Trans. i may represent a unit of time. Inother examples, however, a transmission resource Trans. i may refer toother physical or logical properties allowing to distinguish separateoccurrences of symbols. For example, the transmission resources Trans. ito which the individual symbols are mapped in the mapping table mayrepresent separate subcarriers, spreading sequences, OFDM intervals, orsuitable combinations thereof. Indeed, any suitable mode of separatingtransmissions may be used.

The cells in the table each lie at the intersections of a row and acolumn and represent individual transmissions of symbols on individualantennae. The mapping table 1400, with two columns and two rows forms asquare segment 1405 having four components 1411, 1412, 1413, 1414, eachof which is a single cell in the mapping table 1400 and corresponding toone symbol. Together the four components form an Alamouti code. In thisexample, components 1411, 1412, 1413, 1414 are quadrants of thesquare-shaped segment 1405. It will be understood that in accordancewith a notation whereby a star “*” indicates a conjugate, A* representsthe conjugate of A, whereas −B* represents the negative conjugate of B.

In some cases, one or more transmission may occur within the same symbolor frame and/or may be part of the same HARQ packet transmission. Inother cases, each transmission may correspond to a separate HARQtransmission.

A scheme for use in re-transmitting a MIMO packet using four transmitantennas, and using two such mappings, derived from Alamouti code, isshown in FIG. 15 which illustrates a mapping table 1500 showing symbolmapping for a transmission scheme whereby four symbols are transmitterover four antennae and two transmissions. As shown in FIG. 15, the firstand a second re-transmission of a MIMO packet take place using ‘doubleSTTD’ STC code mappings.

More specifically, the mapping table may be divided into two segments1505, 1510, each having four components, each component beingsingle-symbol components. Each of the segments 1505 and 1510 defines anAlamouti coding. In FIG. 15, a fist segment 1505 lies at the conjunctionof antennae Tx-1, Tx-2 and Transmissions Trans. 1 and Trans. 2. Thefirst segment 1505 comprises four components 1506, 1507, 1508, 1509,each corresponding to one symbol. In those four components, 1506, 1507,1508, 1509 the mapping takes the form of an Alamouti code in a mannersimilar as in the mapping table 1400. In the second segment 1510 at theconjunction of Tx-3, Tx-4 and Trans. 1, Trans. 2, four componentslikewise correspond to symbols and take the form of an Alamouti code ina manner similar to that shown in FIG. 14.

Although the segments shown in FIG. 15 are contiguous, it should beunderstood that this needs not be the case. Indeed, the four componentsof the segments may be arranged in a non adjacent manner in the mappingtable 1500. For example, segments 1505 and 1510 could be horizontallydiscontinuous and being on non adjacent antennae (in the tablerepresentation or in physical reality) as shown in FIG. 16. In themapping table 1600 shown in FIG. 16, a similar arrangement as in FIG.15, but with the segments split over non-adjacent antenna columns. Here,components 1606, 1608, corresponding to antenna Tx-1 and components 1607and 1609 of antenna Tx-3 belong to a first segment 1605, whilecomponents 1611 and 1613 corresponding to antenna Tx-2 and components1612 and 1614 of antenna Tx-4 belong to a second segment 1610.Furthermore, segments 1605 and 1610 are discontinuous in thetransmission resource direction as well. More specifically, in the caseof first segment 1605, components 1606 and 1607 correspond totransmission resource Trans. 1 while 1608 and 1609 correspond totransmission resource Trans. 3, while no component of the first segment1605 occur at transmission resources Trans. 2. Similarly for the secondsegment 1610, components 1611 and 1612 correspond to transmissionresource Trans. 1 while 1613 and 1614 correspond to transmissionresource Trans. 3, while no component of the first segment 1605 occur attransmission resources Trans. 2. In an alternative example, the varioussymbols S1, S2, S3, S4 could also be located not on the sametransmission Trans. 1, but may be spread among different transmissions.Likewise their respective conjugate or negative could likewise not allbe located on the same transmissions Trans. 3. In such a case, thesymbols S1, S2, S3, S4 should be on different transmissions and antennaeTrans. i as their conjugates or negative conjugates to ensuretransmission (e.g. time) and space diversity.

In accordance with the mapping table 1500 shown in FIG. 15, beyond thefirst retransmission, the two STC code mappings defined in Table 1 maybe used alternately to re-transmit until the data packet is successfullydecoded at the receiver. For example, symbols S1, S2, S3, S4 may contain(possibly amongst other information) HARQ re-transmissions.

FIG. 17A shows a mapping table 1700 divided into four segments 1705,1710, 1715, 1720 which in this example are four quadrants of four cells(individual cells not shown). As will be described in more detail below,each segment 1705, 1710, 1715, 1720 are populated with symbols followingthe Alamouti code pattern, but applied at a per-segment level.

FIG. 17B shows the mapping table 1700 with the contents of each segment1705, 1710, 1715, 1720 shown. As shown, each segment 1705, 1710, 1715,1720 comprises four components. For example, segment 1705 comprises foursingle-symbol components 1706, 1707, 1708 and 1709.

The segments 1705, 1710, 1715, 1720 together can be considered to makeup a larger segment 1725. To distinguish between the smaller segments1705, 1710, 1715, 1720 and the larger segment 1725 which is made up ofsmaller segments, the segments 1705, 1710, 1715, 1720 may be referred toas primary segments while the segment 1725 may be referred to as asecondary segment. In this example, secondary segment 1725 makes up theentire contents of the mapping table 1700, however in other examples,there may be several secondary segments, each being comprised of primarysegments.

The secondary segment 1725 is made up of four sub-segments, which inthis case are primary segments 1705, 1710, 1715, 1720. These aremulti-symbol components of secondary segment 1725. In this example, theprimary segments 1705, 1710, 1715, 1720 are quadrants of the secondarysegment 1725. The mapping table 1700 is populated with symbols. (Forsimplicity, the symbols are represented here as A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H,and negative conjugates thereof. However, a more specific description ofthe symbols in each primary segment will be provided further below, withreference to FIG. 17C where the placeholder labels A, B, C, . . . havebeen replaced with more specific symbol labels.) More specifically, themapping table 1700 is populated in such as manner as to form asegment-level Alamouti code of the primary segments 1705, 1710, 1715,1720. Any suitable manner of applying the pattern of the Alamouti codeto segments may be used to derive a pattern for a segment-level Alamouticode. In this example, the pattern of the segment-level Alamouti code issuch that the symbols of the primary segment 1715 are the negativeconjugates of the symbols of the primary segment 1710 while the symbolsof the primary segment 1720 are the same as that of the primary segment1705.

In this example, the Alamouti code is implemented on a segment-level byensuring that the symbols in the secondary segment 1725 follow a certainpattern. It should be understood that other patterns derived from theAlamouti code could also be used. For example, rather than to replicatethe primary segment 1705, the symbols of primary segment 1720 could beconjugates of the symbols of primary segment 1705. Alternatively, thesymbols of some primary segments may represent the result of matrixoperations on other primary segments such as transpose operationsconjugate transpose or other transformations. It should also beunderstood that the location of conjugates or negative conjugatesrelative to their basis could be inversed. It is to be understood thatany Alamouti based code, based on the Alamouti pattern may be used bothat the symbol and segment levels.

For the purpose of describing the relationship between primary segments1705, 1710, 1715, 1720, their symbols have been represented as A, B, C,D, E, F, G, H and negative conjugates thereof. However, the actualcontents of each primary segment 1705, 1710, 1715, 1720 may itselffollow the pattern of the Alamouti code, as shown in FIG. 17C. In FIG.17C, labels A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H have been replaced with S1, S2, S3,S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8,respectively. As shown, the primary segments 1705,1710, 1715, 1720 may make up Alamouti codes. For example, primarysegment 1705 comprises S1 in component 1706, S2 in component 1707, −S2*in component 1708 and S1* in component 1709, thus forming an Alamouticode. It will be appreciated that the Alamouti code pattern is alsopresent in the other primary segments.

Thus, secondary segment 1725, which defines a segment-level Alamouticode, comprises sub-segments which themselves define Alamouti codes.This results in a pattern of nested Alamouti codes.

It will be appreciated that the symbols in the mapping table 1700 thusform part of symbol-level Alamouti codes (defined in segments 1705,1710, 1715 and 1720) and segment-level Alamouti codes (defined insegment 1725) and that at the segment level, we start to deviate fromthe symbol level Alamouti scheme.

Thus the mapping table 1700 can be used for a reliable transmission offour symbols S1, S2, S3, S4. The transmission scheme defined by themapping table 1700 can be used in any suitable way to transmit symbolsS1, S2, S3, S4. For example, each transmission resource Trans. 1, Trans.2, Trans. 3, Trans. 4 may be considered a separate transmission whichmay or may not necessarily occur. For example, if transmission resourcesTrans. 1, Trans. 2, Trans. 3, Trans. 4 are separate time intervals, ascheme for transmitting symbols S1, S2, S3 and S4 may involvesuccessively undergoing all four transmissions shown in FIG. 17C attheir respective times.

Alternatively, the mapping table 17C may be used as a retransmissionscheme to be followed in the event of a failed transmission. In such acase, a first transmission may occur using transmission resourceTrans. 1. If the transmission is successful, the remaining transmissionindicated in the mapping table may not occur at all. If the firsttransmission is not successful, or if it is not possible to confirm thatit was successful, a second transmission may take place following themapping for transmission resource Trans. 2. This may also be doneseveral transmissions at a time, whereby several transmissions overseveral transmission resources take place according to the mappingtable, and only if these several transmissions are not successful areadditional transmissions over additional transmission resourcesperformed according to the mapping table. This pattern may repeat itselfuntil a transmission is successful or until the bottom of the table isreached, at which point further attempts can be made by starting againfrom the top of the table or the transmission may be determined to be afailure. Since the transmission resource can be a resource other thantime, it is possible that subsequent transmissions/retransmissions occurin another frame or frames.

Optionally, repeating preset patterns of transmissions may be built intothe table by providing additional rows of transmission resources andpopulating them with repetitions of the transmission patterns. FIG. 20illustrates a mapping table 2000 comprising a block 2040 of twoidentical segments 2025, 2035. In an example where the transmissionresources are time intervals, the segment 2025 is followed by anidentical copy of itself, segment 2030.

In the example of FIGS. 17A-17C, the mapping table comprises a singlesecondary segment 1725. It is to be understood that a mapping table maycomprise several secondary segments 1725. Furthermore, as will bedescribed more fully below, a mapping table may comprise additionallayers of nested Alamouti codes.

Although the mapping table 1700 was comprised of symbols derived fromfour symbols S1, S2, S3, S4 which matched the number of antennae Tx-1,Tx-2, Tx-3, Tx-4, it should be understood that this such matching of thenumber of symbols and antenna is not necessary. For example, a mappingtable may be built from a lower number of symbols than antennae.Additional antennae may be used to send additional or modified (e.g.,conjugates and/or negatives) copies of the transmitted symbols.

FIG. 18 shows a mapping table 1800 for a transmission scheme fortransmitting over 8 antennae Tx-1, . . . Tx-8. In this example, thesymbols in the mapping table 1800 are all derived from four symbols S1,S2, S3, S4. As shown, in this example the mapping table comprises atertiary segment 1850, which is made up of secondary segments 1825,1830, 1835, 1840.

As shown, the secondary segment 1825 is made up of the same symbols assecondary segment 1725 of the example of FIG. 17C. In other words, likesecondary segment 1725, secondary segment 1825 comprises four primarysegments 1805, 1810, 1815, 1820, which each have four single-symbolcomponents and which make up Alamouti codes. The primary segments 1805,1810, 1815, 1820 within secondary segment 1825 together form asegment-level Alamouti code, like the primary segments 1705, 1710, 1715,1720 in secondary segment 1725. Since there are eight antennae, eightsymbols can be transmitted per transmission resource. Accordingly, thereare eight symbol cells per transmission resource Trans. i. These eightcells are filled by providing mapping table with a secondary cell 1830,which is a copy of secondary cell 1825. Thus secondary cell 1830 is alsocomprised of primary segments arranged in a segment-level Alamouti code,which themselves are Alamouti codes.

Secondary segments 1835 and 1840 are such that secondary segments 1825,1830, 1835, 1840 themselves make up a (secondary) segment-level Alamouticode. As such, the tertiary segment 1850 itself defines a segment-levelAlamouti code (at the secondary segment level). Thus, there are threelayers of nested Alamouti codes: the primary segments are Alamouticodes, the secondary segments are segment-level Alamouti codes (at theprimary level) and the tertiary segment is a segment-level Alamouti code(at the secondary level). It will be noted that secondary segments 1835and 1840 are also segment-level Alamouti codes and that they can bedivided into four-cell primary segments that are themselves Alamouticodes. Thus nesting Alamouti codes may preserve lower layers of Alamouticodes.

In the above example, the symbols in the mapping table 1800 are allderived from four symbols S1, S2, S3, S4. It will be understood thatsuch triple-nesting of Alamouti codes could also be done with othernumbers of symbols. For example, eight symbols S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6,S7, S8 could have made up the first transmission resource Trans. 1, withthe rest of the mapping table following the pattern of Alamouti codesdescribed above. In such a case, secondary segment 1830 would not beidentical to secondary segment 1825, but rather would comprise symbolsS5, S6, S7, S8 and conjugates and/or negatives thereof.

It is to be understood that as described above in respect of primarysegments, secondary segments also need not be contiguous. Furthermore,segments need not be adjacent. Furthermore, Alamouti codes andsegment-level Alamouti codes can be cropped to remove certain portionsthereof. For example, with reference to FIG. 17A, although the secondarysegment 1725 comprises all four primary segments 1705, 1710, 1715, 1720in their entirety which together form the segment-level Alamouti code,it should be understood that the secondary segment may comprise onlysubset of the overall segment-level Alamouti code. Some symbols of thecomplete segment-level Alamouti code may be removed, or otherwiseomitted, from the secondary segment, for example to create apartially-filled matrix, as shown in FIG. 19. In this example, segments1710 and 1715 have been removed to create a partially filled matrix. Asshown, the mapping table 1900 of FIG. 19 comprises such apartially-filled matrix in a secondary segment 1925 which defines asegment-level Alamouti code that is a partial segment-level Alamouticode. Although the partially filled matrix of the secondary segment 1925comprises empty cells, it is to be understood that in alternativeembodiments, these cells could be filled with other symbols not formingpart of the partial Alamouti code. It will be appreciated that partialsymbol-level Alamouti codes wherein certain symbols have been omittedmay be used as well, for example in the case of a retransmission wheresome of the symbols previously transmitted have been properly receivedand need not be retransmitted.

The above-described embodiments of the present application are intendedto be examples only. Those of skill in the art may effect alterations,modifications and variations to the particular embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the application.

1. A method for transmitting data in a multiple-input-multiple-output space-time coded communication comprising: a. transmitting a plurality of sets of symbols over a plurality of antennae and respective transmission resources according to a mapping table, the mapping table mapping the plurality of symbols defining the communication to respective antennae from amongst the plurality of transmission antennae and to their respective transmission resource; wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting symbols forming at least a part of a segment-level Alamouti based code in the mapping table.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting further comprises transmitting symbols forming part of a symbol-level Alamouti based code.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting symbols that form a part of both the symbol-level Alamouti based code and the segment-level Alamouti based code.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping table comprises: a. a plurality of primary segments each comprising a plurality of components corresponding to individual symbols together defining a symbol-level Alamouti based code; and b. at least one secondary segment comprising a plurality of primary segments together defining a segment-level Alamouti based code.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the each of at least one secondary segment comprise four primary components.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the segment-level Alamouti based code defined by the at least one secondary segment is a partial Alamouti based code.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one secondary segment each comprise a plurality of primary segments together defining a segment-level Alamouti based code at the primary segment level, the mapping table further comprising at least one tertiary segment comprising a plurality of secondary segments together forming a segment-level Alamouti based code at the secondary segment level.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting a first set of symbols over the plurality of antennae and a first transmission resource and confirming whether the first set of symbols has been successfully transmitted.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising if the first set of symbols is not confirmed to have been successfully transmitted, transmitting a second set of symbols over the plurality of antennae and a second transmission resources.
 10. A method for transmitting data in a multiple-input-multiple-output space-time coded communication comprising a. defining a mapping table for mapping a plurality of symbols defining the communication to respective antennae from amongst a plurality of transmission antennae and to respective transmission resources; b. populating the mapping table by: i. defining a plurality of primary segments of the mapping table, each of the plurality of primary segments comprising a plurality of components corresponding to individual symbol transmissions together defining a symbol-level Alamouti based code; and ii. defining a secondary segment of the mapping table, the secondary segment comprising a plurality of primary segments together defining a segment-level Alamouti based code; and c. transmitting the symbols in the mapping table with the plurality of antennae according to the mapping table. 